Glossopharyngeal neuralgia with syncope. Anesthetic considerations

Abstract

The symptoms of glossopharyngeal neuralgia are paroxysmal neuralgic pain in the throat and neck, precipitated by swallowing, chewing or coughing, and accompanied by bradycardia or asystole, hypotension, syncope and, occasionally, convulsions. To date, only 33 cases have been reported in the literature, of which 31 had syncope, 13 had asystole and seizure, 10 had asystole, and 5 had seizures alone. A 62-year-old patient with epidermoid carcinoma of the left nasopharynx extending into and encasing the proximal parts of the left internal and external carotid arteries, manifesting as glossopharyngeal neuralgia with syncope is described.